Thursday, March 3, 2016

How to Find a College Roommate

Finding a roommate for your incoming freshman year is one of the most crucial, intimidating but also fun decisions you're going to make as you approach the beginning of college. I know that for me personally, I've pictured being super close with my freshman roommate: experiencing welcome week, rush and everything the first year has to offer together. Basically, the sort of thing you see in movies about how they're your built in best friend! I have also heard that some people prefer to have someone they get along with, but with whom they aren't necessarily in the same friend group and don't hang out with constantly. Rather than a best friend, someone who is easy to get along with but doesn't stir up drama that could make living together awkward. Either way, choosing a roommate is a big step and since I have already done housing and have my future roomie (hopefully multiple!), I thought I would share what I've learned, and the useful resources my friends and I have utilized along the way. 



+ Facebook
If you're starting out your search, I recommend joining your college's incoming freshman class group page to get a feel for people. Some students often post about themselves in the page sharing their major, interests, etc which is helpful when narrowing down what you're looking for in a roommate. I wouldn't use this as your only resource in your search, however, because it's hard not to judge someone based on their profile picture or pictures from 2011 (let's be real)!

+ Roomsurf 
Another universal way to find a roommate, Roomsurf is a website that gives you a survey to fill out with questions such as what time do you go to bed, how clean do you keep your room, are you pretty active, etc. After calculating your results, it matches you with people with similar answers as you to ensure that you find someone like you! I personally didn't use this because I met my future roommates through a business program I did at Indiana University over the summer, but have had friends use it and find tons of potential people to room with. If you're really wanting to find someone with similar habits to you, this is definitely the best way to find a roomie like you!

+ MySchools App
I'm not sure which schools all use this app, but this was the first way I started looking at different roommates and getting a feel for other incoming freshman. IU strongly encourages using this app and I found it really helpful. You can search for people based on their hometown, intended major, preferred residence hall, or hometown. You can also message people and it feels less intimidating than Facebook messaging, so it's an easy way to start chatting with people and get a feel for who you could see yourself rooming with.

+ Mutual Friends
After utilizing all these different resources, I ended up meeting 3 girls through the business program I attended and we are so excited to hopefully have a quad together next year! There will be more information to come in the future, but basically we are planning to get a suite with a shared living space and bathroom in between our double rooms. The girls I'm rooming with were actually in the second session of the program, but two of them know my friends from my week and it's so crazy but perfect how it all worked out! If you know people at your future school, talk to them to see how they recommend finding a roommate - they might just have another friend you could live with for your first year!


As one of the first big steps in my transition to college, I'm so excited to bring you guys along and experience it all with me! There will be lots more college posts to come and I seriously can't wait to share more (especially the dorm decorations... don't even get me started :). 

Whether you're a college graduate, still in college or a senior in high school, leave comments below with your advice for finding roommates! I'm sure a lot of us would benefit!
xoxo

3 comments :

  1. I was just thinking the other day about how I was excited to see your dorm decorations! I honestly spend most of my time looking at dorms on Pinterest. Can't wait to see more!
    xx, Julianna {sassdelsur.blogspot.com}

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for sharing Caroline! I'm a high school junior but I will definitely be saving this for next year!

    xoxo,
    Katie
    chicincarolina.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent and helpful post… I am so glad to left comment on this. This has been a so interesting ..I appreciate your effort.

    ReplyDelete

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